


My own worst enemy

by servethenuts



Category: She Loves Me - Bock/Harnick/Masteroff
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 22:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7549012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/servethenuts/pseuds/servethenuts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing is worse than sabotaging yourself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My own worst enemy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [huffellepuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/huffellepuff/gifts).



**My own worst enemy**

 

Georg had been particularly difficult that morning, so Amalia decided to get away for some minutes in the workroom under the excuse of filling Mona Lisa tubes.

 

After she had finished about 4 dozens of them, she felt tired and in need of a pick me up. Luckily, she had received a letter from Dear Friend the day before, and it had moved her so much that she had decided to carry it in her purse (well, to be honest, in her bra).

 

So she sat down, pulled out the letter and started to read.

 

_Dear Friend,_

_I’m sorry to have neglected our correspondence but work has been particularly difficult these days. I hope you had not believed I have forgotten about you, because I could never forget someone so dear who is always on my mind._

 

[...]

 

_Before I finish this later, I wanted to tell you about a funny thing that happened the other day. I was reading one of your letters by my desk next to the window. I stood up to grab a cup of tea when the wind blew and the letter went out of the window. In a haste, I got out of my apartment and went downstairs as fast as I could, and luckily, I was able to retrieve such a precious item. Nevertheless, I had forgotten to bring with the keys to my apartment, and my building, I even forgot to put on shoes!_

 

_Fortunately, Miss Halk was just arriving from her morning stroll, and she was kind enough to let me in, not without scolding me about young people these days and their strange habits of going out barefoot._

 

Amalia tried to stifle her laugh, but the image of Dear Friend, though purely a guess, barefoot being scolded by his neighbor was too much and she started to laugh out loud, until she heard someone come through the door.

 

“Well, Miss Balash, I’m glad filling those Mona Lisa tubes bring you so much joy. It certainly wasn’t as funny to me when all the clients complained about it ruining their clothes!”

 

“Mr. Nowack, are you being intentionally unpleasant today?”

 

“Miss Balash, I would not call asking you to do your work properly ‘unpleasant’.”

 

“But you don’t have to be so awful about it! You’ve been awful to me since I managed to get this job!”

 

“And you don’t have to complain everytime I ask you to do something! Now, could you go and help Miss Ritter with Miss Szakacs, it seems like you’re not the only one being difficult today.”

 

Amalia wanted to scream at him, but she held it in. “Fine, Mr. Nowack”, she said and hurried out of the room.

 

Georg sighed and ran his hand through his hair. In that moment, he noticed Amalia had left something on the desk. It looked like a piece of paper, perhaps a receipt or an order, so he decided to take a look at it.

 

He dropped it immediately when he realized it was one of this letters.

 

“No no no no no no no no no no no,” he said to himself.

 

Georg felt dizzy. This couldn’t be. Amalia couldn’t be Dear Friend. Why, he hated her! And she hated him!

 

Headstrong and obstinate Miss Balash couldn’t be the woman who wrote such wonderful letters. She couldn’t be his Dear Friend, the women whose letters brightened up his days couldn’t be the same one that sometimes ruined them.

I mean, sure, Amalia seemed to have a way with words, but she usually used it to bother him. That proved nothing. And sure, everybody else seemed to love her, including customers and she did seem to get along with everyone else but him, even Kodaly. But she couldn’t be Dear Friend, the universe had to be playing a joke on him, a not very funny one.

 

But, would it be so awful to be in love with Miss Balash? If he was honest with himself, she was kind of attractive. He might have even noticed that from the moment she walked into the store. And, truth to be told, some of her quirks could be considered endearing, if they didn’t drive him crazy. She was always late, but she knew about this flaw and worked harder and stayed later than everyone else.

 

And yes, she could be obstinate, but only because she had strong views and the necessity and will to defend them. If he was honest with himself, he admitted this was a quality Dear Friend possessed as well. In fact, if he wasn’t the one she was arguing with he would even root for her.

 

But when they fought, she was so passionate about her views that Georg sometimes felt the need to kiss her to shut her up.

 

Oh no.

  
He was in love with Miss Balash. Looking back, he could recognize that she was always on his mind. For some reason, he couldn’t let go of his arguments with her, although he usually just let stuff like that slip and ignored them. But somehow he couldn’t ignore Amalia.

 

He didn’t know what was worse, being in love with someone he hated, or being in love with someone who was in love with someone else, but whom was in fact him. He would laugh if he hadn’t felt like crying, the situation was so ridiculous. He was glad he hadn’t complained about his “annoying coworker” by name to Dear Friend, because that surely would have ended everything.

 

Still, surely, Amalia wouldn’t take the news of their real identities as well as he had. She seemed to hate him a lot more. That broke his heart. He had been awful to her, if he admitted it to himself, even treated her unfairly. She would hate him, he was sure, not only for lying to her but for breaking the ideal picture she had of Dear Friend, the man she was in love with.

 

Georg couldn’t let this happen. He wanted Amalia to love him but also he didn’t want to break her heart. He wouldn’t be able to take it if he brought her heartache. What could he do?

 

And then, an idea came to him. He would have to win her as Georg. He would treat her better, as he should have the whole time, and he would show her how much he loved her. So, when she found out the truth, she could actually be happy about it.

 

\-------

 

That’s why, when Georg arrived the next day at work, he decided to try to be civil, even charming, to her. It was not that hard, now that he could sincerely admit  that he loved her. Georg saw that Amalia was attending Miss Szakacs, who was being characteristically difficult, so he decided to help.

 

“Good morning Miss Szakacs, could I be of any help?”

 

“I was just telling Miss Balsh here that the perfume I ordered last week hasn’t arrived yet.”

 

“Miss Szakacs, I’m sorry, but as I was explaining, that particular perfume comes from Belgium and the delivery has been delayed,” Amalia said.

 

“Miss Szakacs, don’t worry we will send the perfume to your home as soon as it arrives with a complementary tube of Mona Lisa. We apologise for any inconvenience,” Georg said.

 

Miss Szakacs looked nonplussed but said,“Very well, Mr. Nowack. I will be expecting the delivery. Miss Balash has my address. Good day.”

 

As soon as she left, Amalia turned to Georg angrily.

 

“Why did you do that?!”

 

Georg was shocked. “What do you mean, I saw you were having trouble with Miss Szakacs and I was trying to help.”

 

“Oh no, you were trying to take my sale away. To prove that I’m not capable enough of handling Miss Szakacs.”

 

Georg stared at her and wondered if perhaps Amalia hated him so much that there was no hope for her even tolerating him.

 

“You’re right Miss Balash, I’m sorry,” he said and walked towards the workroom.

 

Amalia was about to respond when she realized he was not going to argue with her. Somehow this seemed more unsettling to her and she decided to follow him.

 

“What do you mean by ‘sorry’?” Amalia asked him.

 

Georg looked up from what he was doing and was surprised to see her there.

 

“I mean, I’m sorry, Miss Balash. I overstepped my boundaries.”

 

“What are you doing?” Amalia asked.

 

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Georg replied.

“You always want to win the arguments, I don’t believe you accepting defeat.”

 

“My apologies are sincere. I’m tired of fighting and perhaps it would be for our best interests if we agreed to be civil. Even if that means ignoring each other.”

 

Amalia considered this for a minute.

 

“I’m sure, Mr. Nowack, that there’s no need for us to ignore each other. After all, we’re both adults, we should be able to be civil to each other.”

 

“Then I guess this is a truce, Miss Balash.”

 

“It’s a truce, Mister Nowack,” Amalia said as they shook hands.

 

\------

 

It had been two days since their truce and Georg and Amalia hadn’t fought once. True, it was mostly because they kept to themselves but it seemed to work and somehow their greetings seemed happy and sincere. It was the end of the day and Georg and Amalia were getting ready to get home.

 

“Mr. Nowack, aren’t you glad the day is over? I can’t believe how many customers we had today. It was like the whole town decided it was a good day to spend their money on perfumes and creams. Frankly, I’m exhausted.”

 

Georg chuckled. “Now Miss Balash, I don’t want to contradict you but I think you may be exaggerating. For once, I’m glad Maraczek’s is back on its feet!”

 

“You’re right, I feel like celebrating. Oh I could just eat the biggest bowl of ice cream right now!”

 

“Do you like ice cream, Miss Balash? I know just the place. It’s called Lindner’s and they have the best vanilla ice cream in Hungary.” Georg decided to be brave and take the first step to further their relationship. “Perhaps you would like to accompany me there before we head home?” he asked shyly.

 

“Why, my mom works there! Right now she’s on vacation, but we should go anyway. Their ice cream is my favourite, too.”

 

With a smile on his face, Georg guided Amalia through the door.

 

\---

 

When they arrived at Lindner’s everyone greeted Amalia and told her how good she looked, almost as young as her mother!

They guided them to a table and sat them down. Before she left, their waitress winked at Amalia and gave her a discreet thumbs up, much to her horror. She tried to discreetly signal no but she was already gone.

 

When their ice creamed arrived, Amalia started eating it eagerly.

 

“You seem happy today. I mean, especially happy,” Georg noted.

 

Amalia seemed hesitant at first but then said.

 

“Well Mr. Nowack, in the light our newfound cordiality, I have something to confess.” She paused and then continued. “For some time now, I’ve been corresponding with a young man.” She observed Georg’s face and when she saw no reaction she went on. “We have never seen each other but I love him. Today I received one of his letters and that’s why I’m in a especially good mood.”

 

Georg froze. “Miss Balash, don’t get me wrong, I say this because of your safety. How much do you know about this man? Have you seen a photo? He could be old, fat and bald, or a murderer!”

 

Amalia seemed shocked for a second. She hadn’t considered these things. Dear friend seemed truthful to her and that’s one of the reasons why she fell for him. When she thought of him, she saw a young man, not an old, bald or fat murderer! But then, she felt ashamed, she loved Dear Friend because of his heart, looks and age shouldn’t matter, love was not that shallow.

 

“I don’t care Mr. Nowack. He could be old, fat and bald and I wouldn’t care, I know what’s he like on the inside. And he’s certainly not a murderer!” she replied calmly but certain.

 

Georg heard this and his heart broke. Perhaps Amalia was too much in love with Dear Friend to love him as Georg. When she found out the truth, would she be glad that the person she loves so much is simple Georg? She didn’t hate him now, but he still worried.

 

He would simply have to try harder and prove he was as wonderful as she believed Dear Friend to be. With that resolution in his mind and heart, they continued talking about other things.

 

\----

 

Over the weekend, Georg decided to buy Amalia a book. It was the perfect gift to initiate conversation between them and Amalia could get to know him better. He decided on giving her Jane Austen’s _Persuasion_ , taking in consideration Amalia’s confidence in never giving up on love.

 

“Good morning Miss Balash. How are you today?”

 

“Good morning, Mr. Nowack. Quite well, thank you. And you?”.

 

“Quite well, too. Miss Balash, I was wondering if you would like to own a copy of Jane Austen’s _Persuasion_ ,” he said as he handed her the book.

 

“This is very generous of you, but I couldn’t accept it.”

 

“Don’t worry, I already own a copy. My aunt didn’t know this when she gave me this book. I wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”

 

“In that case, thank you. I didn’t know you were interested in literature.”

 

“I am. This book came to me in a special time when I needed to trust in the inevitability of love.”

 

“And a romantic! Why, Mr. Nowack, you’re full of surprises today. Thank you for the book, I shall read it as soon as I can.”

 

“You’re welcome, Miss Balash. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I shall go see how Mr. Sipos is doing with Miss Szakacs.” Georg said shyly.

 

Amalia watched Georg, and with a smile on her face, thought that perhaps she and Mr. Nowack  are more alike than she initially imagined them to be.

 

\----

 

As they prepared to head home the next day, Amalia stopped Georg and asked him a question.

 

“Mr. Nowack, would you care to have coffee with me?”

 

Georg was surprised. “I’d be delighted to, Miss Balash. I know just the place. This little café just around the corner from Dutka’s barbershop. It’s not too far.”

 

They arrived and were seated but neither of them was speaking. Amalia decided to break the silence.

 

“Mr. Nowack, I have to confess I had ulterior motives inviting you here.”

 

“I’m intrigued, Miss Balash. What do you mean?”

 

“Well, remember I told you about Dear Friend?. We’ve been corresponding for some time now and I think I’m going to ask him to meet in person. But I wanted to ask for your advice, you being a man, after all. Do you think it’s a good idea, how should I do it?”

 

Georg panicked. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. After all, you are the one who knows him. But as I have told you before, letters can be deceiving. Are you sure you aren’t setting yourself up for disappointment?”

 

“I have already told you that I don’t care about Dear Friend’s physical characteristics, I know what’s in his heart. Are you implying that he would be disappointed in me?” Amalia said and her voice started to rise.  “I thought we had agreed to be civil to each other, that’s why I asked for your help. But it seems you still have a low opinion of me. Goodbye, Mr. Nowack, she said sternly and left.

 

\----

 

Two days passed and Georg and Amalia hadn’t spoken a word. They ignored each other at work, Georg being too scared to even try to apologize, thinking he could mess up even worse.

 

On the third day, Georg noticed that Amalia had arrived later than usual, which was late in itself, and her eyes were red and watery, as if she had been crying and still wanted to.

 

He followed her to the workroom, when she went in to leave her coat and purse.

 

“Miss Balash, I’m sorry to intrude, but are you alright?”

 

Amalia couldn’t held it in any longer and ran into Georg’s arms and started sobbing.

 

Between sobs she tried to explain.

 

“You were right, asking to meet him would have been a bad idea. I had just gathered the courage to write him when I received a letter from him saying that he was sorry but due to unforeseen circumstances we would have to stop writing.”

 

Georg heart’s broke and he felt immensely guilty. He started rubbing her back.

 

“Can you believe it? I didn’t have to disappoint him in person, I managed to do that well just by my letters.”

 

Georg sighed. He couldn’t let her feel this way. He had to explain.

 

“Miss Balash, please stop crying. If you would excuse my language, Dear Friend is a idiot.”

 

“Mr. Nowack, don’t talk that way. It hurts me a lot, but if he didn’t love me, perhaps it is the best that he ended it,” she said and continued sobbing.

 

“I’m afraid you don’t understand. I know for a fact Dear Friend is an idiot because I’m an idiot”.

 

Amalia looked up to him with confusion in her eyes.

 

Georg disentangled from her and walked around the room, running his hand down his face.

 

“Miss Balash, Amalia, I’m Dear Friend.”

 

Amalia couldn’t say anything, just stared at him with a blank expression.

 

“I’m sorry, please don’t hate me. I found out about it that time when I saw you laughing in the workroom and we fought.” Georg warily looked at her and decided to continue.

 

“I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid that you hated me so much that you would hate me even more when you discovered I was Dear Friend. And then, when I saw that you loved him so much I was jealous and thought I couldn’t compete with myself, so in a foolish move I decided to end our correspondence, something I deeply regret now that I see how much sadness it has brought you.” He took a deep breath and continued.

 

“I’m sorry Miss Balash. I love you, but after seeing how much I’ve hurt you, I can only ask for your forgiveness and hope you don’t hate me as much as I surely deserve,” Georg said, looking down and not daring to meet her eyes.

 

Amalia started at him and then launched at him and kissed him. Georg was shocked but managed to respond and kiss her back, cupping her face with one hand and circling her waist with another.

 

They broke apart and Amalia took his face into her hands.

 

“Oh Georg, you are an idiot. But I think I might be too. I wanted to meet Dear Friend because I found myself falling for you and was  too confused and afraid. I was afraid that I didn’t love Dear Friend as much as I thought I did or that I was betraying him. But I hoped it was you, and I think in some capacity I knew it was you and everything just scared me so much.”

 

She touched her forehead to his and smiled. “But I’m so happy right now. And I love you so much.”

 

Georg returned her smile. “And I love you too, Dear Friend,” he said and captured her lips again. The second of many kisses they would share.

 

\-----

  
_Fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks again to huffellepuff for being an amazing beta and all around awesome!


End file.
